In The Garden – Page 2

April 27, 2020April 27, 2020

Buy the Field

I once managed a community garden that was truly a wonderful place. It was blessed with many talented people, who each contributed to making it one of the most productive and beautiful volunteer gardens I ever worked at. One cold winter day, when the north wind blew strong through its quiet rows, we received some devastating news. The nearby community center was going to be expanded and the footprint for the new building was to be located directly upon the garden. The city was going to break ground on the project in Spring, and we were told to clear the site within the next month. I can still remember how shocked and devastated everyone was. For many, it was a place to be with their friends, others used it to conduct field trips and educational work for local schools and community classes. After twelve years of existence, we were deeply going to miss our shared place of community.

Everyone was too upset to do anything for a few weeks, so the garden just laid dormant. Then in March we came together to meet and decide what was needed to dismantle and decommission the garden. After many minutes of complaint and anguish filled comments, a man stood up and said a very surprising thing. He told us, ” Let’s go ahead and do our normal Spring planting. We should act like nothing is going to happen to this wonderful place. Be optimistic, these city projects often get tied up at City Hall for years and I happen to know that this project has some opposition that will likely force some long delays”. At first, nobody could believe that this might happen, but after much discussion a feeling of optimism began to grow. Within a week we had begun cleaning up the garden and planting the most ambitious effort in all our history. We wanted to show the community and the council just how important and valuable the garden was for our town. To this day, the community garden lives on and remains a blessing to the community.

The prophet Jeremiah once gave a speech similar to the one this man gave to our community garden. He was spending time in the Jerusalem jail for speaking God’s Word to the King of Judah, Zedekiah. Even though the enemy was about to take and destroy the entire city, then lead many of its people into captivity, He told them he was going to do something very odd, but optimistic. He was going to purchase a piece of property, a field to grow crops.. a place to grow a garden. He wanted to make it clear, that even in that dark hour, God was at work. Our Lord God wanted to tell His people that this was not the final chapter of the Jewish nation. He said, ‘be optimistic even when destruction and doom lie at the very door’, because I have a plan and a heart of love for my people. I will someday bring them back to this place and they will live in abundance once again.

Spring 2020 has brought illness and loss that have caused many to lose hope in their future. Some of us have lost loved ones, others have lost their way to make a living. How this all ends up is still quite unclear. But there is one thing that we should never lose, and that is our trust in the love and saving work of Jesus Christ. Remember His promise, “I will never leave you or forsake you”. He is there with us through every trouble and trial that befalls us. Look up to Him and pray, even when there seems to be no hope. Grab ahold of Him with all your strength, and He will give you reason to rejoice, even in times of despair. Jesus will encourage you to carry on with life and to be optimistic, even when it seems everything is going in the wrong direction. Praise be, to our God!

April 8, 2020April 11, 2020

Gopher War

He who is slow to to wrath has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly. Proverbs 14:29

There was a man on my street who went out into his Rose garden one morning and saw three of his young English Roses chewed off at the soil line. They laid flat on their sides. Each had fallen victim to a hungry Gopher, who had just the day before robbed the man of most of his Carrot crop. To say that he was angry may have been an understatement, for after a spate of cursing and stomping about, he vowed to ride his garden from this bloated pest that very morning.

This is how he devised to do that little rodent in. First, he went throughout all the garden and tamped down each of the open holes he could find Then he went to his gas grill and unhooked the propane tank and hose line. With this he poked the line into one of the main gopher burrows and began to fill the network of tunnels with gas. He went around the yard for about twenty minutes filling as many burrows as he could find. At the last one, he left the whole slightly opened and struck a match.

There come many times in life when we just feel like blowing up. Feelings get hurt, stress has made us weak, we suffer some perceived loss; and when this happens our pride gets stepped on causing the anger inside of us can grow to explosive proportions. God instructs us to go slow when this happens. He doesn’t tell us to stuff our anger completely, but to carefully consider the situation, pray, and then act accordingly. God wishes our actions to live up to His standards, that we might bring honor to Him in all situations. Look what happens when we blow up; feelings are hurt, bridges may get burned, our reputation can get tarnished, and the level of trust people have in us, diminishes. Proverbs 29:11 says ” A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps themselves under control”. James warns about our tongue, ” see how great a forest is kindled by a small spark”. James 3:6.

You may be wondering how that Gopher story turned out… As you might have guessed, this man who had became quickly inflamed by his anger, brought new emphasis to the word ‘folly’. When that match hit the gopher hole, an explosion could be heard for blocks around. Soil flew into the air and a fireball erupted all across his backyard. A group of Junipers by his back fence caught fire and soon his fence was on fire, too. His entire rose garden was blown from the ground and lay smoldering, destroyed. The hair on his head was badly singed and his clothes rested smoldering against his shocked body. He never did find out what happened to that Gopher, but it appears to have won the war.

February 13, 2020February 24, 2020

Chlorophyll

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life”. John 8:12

There is a substance found within plants that is one of the greatest miracles in all of creation. It is called chlorophyll, one of the key components that sustains life here on Earth. You may know it as the stuff within plants that makes them green. God created chlorophyll to be the pathway for the energy of sunlight to become incorporated into the substance of life. It allows plants to convert sunlight into the basic materials used by all living things. When sunlight shines on a plant, the chlorophyll within its leaves is activated and begins a complex chemical process called photosynthesis that forms sugars and gives off oxygen. How wonderful then is chlorophyll, for in every breath we take and with each bite of food we eat, it has provided us through its life sustaining qualities.

The sun is the light source of our planet, but Jesus is the light of life for all mankind. Many times in the Gospels, Jesus refers to Himself as the one who brings light into the world, who casts away darkness, and shines forth the light of God. His light is truth and righteousness, it exposes the hidden things of darkness. The light of Christ gives eternal life to all who dwell within its brightness and glory. Those who follow Him are called ‘children of the light’.

A substance is found within some people called faith. Faith is like the chlorophyll found in plants, because it enables us to soak up the light of God. It makes manifest the life of Jesus Christ within us. Producing for all the world, the products of His light. These are good works, love, righteousness, healing, and all forms of the personality of God. Faith is a miracle in the spiritual world, just as chlorophyll is a miracle in the created world. It is not of our doing, but the reaction of our hearts and minds to the revelation of God through His Word, His Spirit, and His Son. As He shines these upon our lives, many scurry off into the shadows away from this light. But some, walk out into the open, and there, receive the full brilliance of God’s light. When God’s love is mixed with our faith, we are changed and forgiven; healed and made new by God’s power and grace. Praise be to our God and to His Son, Jesus Christ.

Every plant requires light to survive. Most need it in abundance. As children of God, we should be careful not to shade ourselves from His light. Unlike plants, we have legs that can carry us far away from the light of God. We can entangle and cover ourselves with things that deflect His life from shining down upon us. This is harmful, and slows down the process of sharing His love abroad. Therefore, nurture your faith. Remain in His light, as He is in the light; polish your leaves; remove the dark shrouds; take in as much light, knowledge, and power as you are able and your light will become as a beacon for all who come near.